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Crimson Red ; Part II of the Point of Enduance Trilogy
By Silver Vaporeon
Chapter 5- Boat Ride"Take care of her, ok?" James bade the friendly old lady farewell.
"I will, young man," the old lady bowed as James made his way out the door. Jessie scowled and wriggled in the lady's arms. After a long time, James finally agreed to take Jessie along but to her surprise and disgust, he had dropped her off at the Daycare Center that he just left. The old lady brought Jessie up close and smiled sweetly. "Aren't you just the cutest little blue-eyed pokèmon? Oh! And that blue locket is just adorable-wibble!"
Jessie's scowl deepened. Just like everyone else who didn't know her as a human, she was treated just as her physical appearance suggested: like a pokèmon. No, it was worse; a baby pokèmon. She had grown a bit in the Labs(all successful pokèmorphs started out as tiny infant-like pokèmon and grew to adult size as they matured) but it wasn't enough to give the impression that she was an adult.
The lady carried her to the backyard where several other pokèmon were wandering about. Jessie was placed on the ground and she looked back at the old lady who was still smiling sweetly at her. It was enough to make her sick. She was being treated just like a two-year-old.
"Go and make some friends, Jenshi!" she said before heading back inside to take care of paperwork. Apparently James had quickly came up with another name for Jessie just in case a Rocket happened to wander by and ask for names. In a pinch he had given Jessie his old childhood friend's name. Jessie sighed and went to the shade of the cherry tree by the small pond and lay down.
There's got to be a way out of here, She thought. No way was she going to stick around where she was treated with less respect than a child. And James? To hell with his thoughts! He was not going to go without her. He'd get lost, scared, wet his pants and change his mind within ten minutes without her, she thought. Something tapped her on the shoulder and she looked backwards to see a lovesick Onix. Realizing she was the object of his adoration, Jessie squeaked and backed away. The Onix followed with little pink hearts in his eyes.
Look, pal! I am defiantly NOT your type! She growled. The Onix said thickly that any hot gal was his type. Jessie rolled her eyes. Perhaps this was that squinty-eyed twerp's Onix; she wouldn't have been too surprised. Still backing up, Jessie saw a small hole in the fencing behind the pond. Seeing her chance, she dashed past the Onix, leaped over the pond, wriggled though the hole and was out of the yard before the lovesick pokèmon could even blink in surprise.
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James walked down the street in his civilian clothing and dark stylish sunglasses. His hair was in a rather short ponyta-tail and he carried a large duffle bag with him containing food and supplies. He took a last look behind him towards the forest and sighed. Each step he took seemed to be taking him to his doom and he was probably right. Maybe the only reason he was doing this was because of guilt.
Guilt? He thought. No…it's something else. Jessie is my friend. Yeah. Or could it be that I truly-?
He shook his head to clear the thought before it reached his mind. Out of love? Hah! He nearly laughed at the half-thought. Mondo was pulling his leg for sure when he said that Jessie loved him; something to pull him out of his slump, wasn't he? Why would a self-sufficient, gorgeous gal like her fall for a wimpy, moronic loser such as himself? He dismissed the thought and moved on.
Then another thought hit him. Was the reason relating from the brutal Team Rocket training he had received as a recruit from his merciless instructor who had told him to never admit or feel any emotions? Was the reason he wouldn't believe he loved her was because he believed that she didn't love him? Or was he unconsciously trying to protect himself from heartbreak? James shook his head again and continued walking. As he passed through the gates of Vermillion City, he failed to notice a little shadow following him; a shadow with sapphire blue eyes and a body of crimson red.
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James half-fell into the wicker chair seated next to the café table outside underneath the canopy and let the duffle bag fall onto the ground. The plastic strands of the chair creaked under the sudden weight and James leaned back to give out an audible sigh. He had made it to the edge of Vermillion Harbor and he was thoroughly exhausted. Mondo had neglected to pack any drinks so he had decided to stop at the Quagsire café to get something to drink and perhaps for a snack; he wasn't going to waste his own supplies when he could always skip on the bill.
"A ham sandwich and some iced tea please," he said to the waitress who bowed slightly and left to fill his order. James wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around, nibbling on one of the breadsticks that were already at the table. Several people were around but all were either busy eating or chatting. It seemed about mid-day and the heat was at its highest. James finally noticed the background music was his song: 'Lucky Lucky'. His food and drink soon came. The unsweetened iced tea was soothing relief to his parched throat. He finished off the drink and began eating his sandwich de. He heard the chairs behind him being moved around and people seating themselves. James ignored the sounds of the café and continued eating.
"You really think that cat has gotten to him?" a female voice said.
"If I know that cat, I'd say that he's gotten to him and both of them are on the run," a deep male voice replied.
"If I didn't think we'd get a promotion for this, I'd tear both of their throats out after that humiliating speech the head honcho of the Dan'in gave to us," the first voice said angrily and the sound of cracking breadsticks could be heard.
"Now, now, Terr. We don't want to create a scene," the man said.
"Yeah…maybe I should just kill that Jessie and her idiot partner James after we get promoted. I'd kill them and their mangy cat too!" Terri snarled as she slapped the table hard enough to make everything on it rattle.
James choked on the piece of sandwich he had been eating. After he dislodged the mouthful, he gulped in air in shuttered gasps. He took out a small pocket mirror from his pocket and aligned it so he could see the two figures behind him. He nearly screamed in alarm. Right behind him were Terri and Clark! He had only seen them from a distance before but it was defiantly them. They had lost interest in watching him choke and had gone to gazing at their menus. Apparently, they didn't recognize him so he sighed to himself. There was still a chance to sneak away.
He quietly got up from the table and picked up his duffle bag; not wanting to spend another second near the two. However, he did not watch where he was going and bumped right into a waiter carrying a stack of dirty china plates and silverware. The plates shattered and the silverware clattered as they hit the ground and in the process of running into the man, James' sunglasses were knocked off. The spectacle had attracted everyone's attention and emerald green met dirty teal.
"You!" Terri cried out the same instant she had recognized the young man. James cursed aloud and started running without stopping to pick up the expensive sunglasses, which were immediately trodden on by the two Rocket Grunts as they ran after him.
"Hey! Hey! Who's going to pay for all this?!" the waiter cursed at the three running off.
James' heart pounded with fear as he ran for his life. He ran towards the harbor, hoping to find a large crowd to get lost in. To his despair, there were hardly any people in front of him and there was no wandering Officer Jenny around. Wait a second, he thought. I can't go to the police. The police are after me! And who could he ask for help?
Behind him, Terri pulled out a pokèball and threw it in front of her. James felt his feet suddenly bound together and he fell to the ground. He frantically tried to crawl forward but it seemed like whatever bond his feet together was pulling him backwards unlike the usual foot restraints the Rockets used. He reached to his belt to send out a pokèmon but he found his arms suddenly tied behind his back. James looked behind him to see Terri and Clark smiling smugly at him and an Ivysaur glaring at him evilly at him, holding him back like a fish on a fishing rod with its vine whip. He gave up going forward, knowing that the pokèmon would hold him tighter than a barnacle on a rock but he continued to thrash around all the same.
"Now then," Clark stepped forward. "Ivysaur! Stu-"
But he was interrupted by a huge roar of flame. The Ivysaur was caught in the blast and it gave a small cough before fainting and loosening its grip on James. Terri recalled her pokèmon muttering something under her breath. The vine vanished from James' ankles and he stood up, bag in hand. "What the-" Terri exclaimed.
"FLARE!"
James gasped as he caught sight of his fire-nymph with the locket around her neck. She had followed him! Jessie had followed him! Her ears were flattened against her head, her back was arched as if ready to spring, her teeth were clenched and her fur was all on end. She was poised to strike and set to kill. Not even a Dragonite would want to take on an enraged Jessie and that was when she did not have the ability to spit fire. Terri and Clark were in utter shock. They hadn't had any information given to them about her capture not to mention her second escape with James. However, they composed themselves quickly, recognizing her locket.
"Jessie, isn't it? This is even better," Terri chuckled. She reached towards her belt and took out another pokèball. James grabbed his bag and flung out Weezing's pokèball and commanded it to use smokescreen and to hold the two off as long as it could before rejoining him. He scooped Jessie into his arms and ran. Ignoring Jessie's yowling and scratching, James ran further into the harbor. It was quiet during this time of year. The St. Anne II had set sail a while ago; everyone is gone, he suddenly remembered. The boats in the harbor were basically all out at sea and the ones still sitting there were not fast enough to outmaneuver a floating ice cube or looked as if they wouldn't hold the weight of a feather.
"EON!" Jessie screamed.
"What?! We need to get away now, Jess! I know you want revenge but this is not-" James started but Jessie slipped out of his arms and hopped onto his head. At this point she was slightly bigger than an average Pikachu and barely weighed a thing, just like in her human form. She used her paw to swat him on the head and attempted to turn it to the left. A middle-aged man was there, untying the rope holding his adequate-sized boat to the pier. "Got it!" James thanked Jessie and he started running towards their getaway boat with Jessie holding fast to his head.
"Sir! Sir! We need this boat!" he cried as he ran near. The man looked up in surprise. Jessie recognized him at once but couldn't quite remember why he was so familiar.
"Now, look here, I just don't give a ride to complete strangers and-"
"Please, sir! The Rockets are after us!" James pleaded and pointed to the emerging dots behind them, knowing that about everyone else outside the organization itself feared and hated the Rockets. The man nodded and he quickly untied the rope, threw it aside, and ran inside to drive the boat away from the harbor at full speed.
Terri and Clark weren't going to let them get away that easily and pulled out a miniature watercraft and expanded it to eight times its condensed size so that it was as big enough to accommodate the both of them. They soon were chasing after the boat, and up to the back of the boat. Clark held the craft steady as Terri took out a harpoon crossbow and shot a harpoon towards the target. The sharp point dug into the wooden railing of the boat and James knew what was coming next. Seeing no sign of Weezing yet, he switched to his other pokèmon.
"Victreebel! Razor Leaf Attack!" he ordered. The pitcher plant pokèmon first went for his head but James smacked her hard. Victreebel reconsidered and launched out several razor-sharp leaves, which cut through the steel cord attached to the harpoon. Sensing that they had a hold on the boat, they had decelerated so the cord would tighten and they could climb aboard. The sudden deceleration caused the watercraft to flip over and as the boat speeded away, James couldn't help but laugh in triumph.
Terri and Clark surfaced, hacking up seawater they had taken in. Terri glared at the boat disappearing into the distance.
"Damn you, bastard! I'll get you and that damn bitch if it's the last thing I do!" she screamed and cursed and when she could not find any more things to curse them with, she flicked them off.
"Calm down, Terr. At least we something." He held up a new pokèball containing a new pokèmon.